Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-03-02
Misfellaneuns &eadiug.
THE WILD DOGS OF ATLANTA,

Sg$Ulu you ever hear OF the WllQ uOSS OF
ATLANTA: At one time the country
around here was almost at the mercy of
those savage animals. Horses, elephants,
and camels, can be made to take al al
most human interest in war, but dogs
cannot stand the racket. The din of bat
tie and the smell of villainous satpetre
breaks them up entirely. The dogs had
ahard time during the siege. There were
thousands of them in those days and
when the season of short rations set in
they were the first to feel it. In many
Instances they were abandoned by their
refngeeing owners and had to literally
forage for a living. The thunder of the big
guns, the unearthly shrek of the shells,
the noise of the falling buildings, the
rattle of musketry, and the heavy tramp
ofmarching soldiers, all struck terror to
the canine contingent. Toward the close
of the siege nearly every dog in the city
was half rabid or in the last stage of ner-
tFOu5 prostration.' The wretched brutes
sought shelter in houses and in bomb
proofs. Majestic mastiffS and surly bull
dogs curled their tails between their legs
and yelped lnournfully at every unusual
sound. Hundreds of the bolder ones
made frantic leap over the breastworks
and bitches, and made their way through
the lines of both armies, and never stop
ped until they reached the woods. These
innocent victims of the ravages of war
had terrible experience during the rig
orous winter of '64-'65. Their misery
drove them to form strange partnerships,
and it was common sight to see them
rowing in bands of dozen or more. The
old saying, "Banish the dog from his
kennel, and you have wolf" was plain
ly illustrated in this case.
In the course of five or six months the
country people for miles around were
spinning marvellous yarns about them
wild dogs from Atlanta" The dog be-
longs to the genus which produces the
wolf, the jackal, and the fox. Tame dogs,
of course, lose many of the CHARACTERISTICS
of these animals; but when persecution
and misery cause them to relapse into a
wild state, they take the appearance, the
habits and the tastes of jackals. Such
was notoriously the fact with the Atlanta
dogs. They lost every trace OF domes
ticity. They grew to enormous size, with
savage eyes and cruel-looking fangs. Oc-
casionally gang of these ferocious beasts
would sWoop down on q farm-yard, de-
vouring pigs and chickens, and attacking
men when they stood in their way. 1t
took the ivliest kind of shooting to drive
them off. Sometimes they would sur
round lonely cabin and wait for the in
mates to come out. They even made
raids into little villages, forcing the in
habitants to shut themselves up in their
houses. The disappearance of many a
negro in those perilous times was fully
accounted for when his skeleton was
found with every particle of flesh gnaw-
ed off and with the ground around show
ing evidences of a desperate struggle
of the ruins. Bloody encounters occur.
red among: the ash-heaps and the piles OF
debris. Every cellar and hole in the
ground held these ravenous brutes, and
they leaped upon men, women and chill
dren without the slightest provocation.
At that time it was dangerous to ride or
drive out in the open country.
On the main road between Atlanta and
Decatur, in broad daylight, the dogs were
known to attack horses attached to bug
gies; forcing their drivers to open hot
fusiade upon them with their revolvers.
After getting this taste of wild life, the
Atlanta dogs went to the bad altogether.
They never reformed. A relentless war
fare was waged upon them from Stone
Mountain to Kennesaw, and one by one
they bit the dust until they were all Wip-
ed out. The reader must not jump at the
conclusion that this indiscriminate slaugh-
ter has caused any unusual scarcity OF
dogs in this region. Thanks to the uni
versaI weakness Tor pets, we ale abund-
antly supplied with bench-legged hounds,
terriers, pugs, NeWfoundlanders, mastlfis
and bulldogs.